5 ms·

Modular Homes Under $100K

56 points by Calebbarclay 8y ago

howard941 8y ago
These are beautiful to look at. How is life inside of them? My wife filled in for a housecleaner at a couple of units billed as "Tiny Homes" on AirBNB and complained vigorously about the contortions required to clean them and generally how cramped they are. In my part of Floriduh they're novelties and in built up areas exist only in trailer parks. As myroon5 suggests, zoning approval in places approved for conventional residences is going to be a challenge.
who-knows95 8y ago
well that is interesting, but i'm not sure how practical it is, unless you have spare space to put one to rent out.
- nine_k 8y ago
  Buy a lot with a decrepit / destroyed home, remove it, place one of these (which should be fast), start renting it out. The "AirBNB income" line under each picture is touching.
  - mcguire 8y ago
    The "AirBNB income" is less than touching since it seems to be the major advertising feature.
fasteddie31003 8y ago
Those prices are way too high for what you are getting. Looks like they are taking standard shipping containers, cutting out some walls and then covering the steel with better-looking materials.
- chrisBob 8y ago
  Connect-Homes specifically state that they aren't made out of shipping containers, but they do make them in similarly sized sections so that all of the existing shipping infrastructure (road and rail) can move them easily. We looked at modular homes before we built last year. The biggest problem I had with them was that I couldn't find a floor-plan I liked, and you always had strange, extra wide walls at the seams. Connect-Homes looks like they use a steel frame to increase the maximum span and reduce the requirement for thick seam walls. If I ever have to move again for some reason I would probably look at modular homes again.
- momentmaker 8y ago
  It'd be cool to see the breakdown of the material cost, labor cost and the profit.
  - rubidium 8y ago
    material cost: $60,000. Labor cost: $40,000. Profit: $200,000. Somewhat made up, but these are a bit out there.
- pjmorris 8y ago
  $75,000/160 sq ft = $469/sq ft. Downtown properties in the booming Raleigh market are around $400 sq ft, and they throw in the lot underneath the house for that. I don't understand the economics of these things.
- rubidium 8y ago
  Definitely not getting a price advantage of modular with prices at $200-400 / sq ft. That's squarely in the custom stick-built range.
myroon5 8y ago
I'm interested in something like a kitHaus. Anyone have any idea if this would be allowed in a city like Seattle?
- DubiousPusher 8y ago
  Seattle is pretty open to backyard dwellings at this point but you'll want to call the city. I'd recommend looking into other options though. These strike me as very pricey based on other options I've looked at.
  - myroon5 8y ago
    Which options have you seen are a better deal than KitHaus?
ryandrake 8y ago
So many questions! First, given the minuscule size of these things and the inclusion of “AirBNB income” these are not homes for sale, but turnkey rental house businesses. Those income figures are in what market? Surely not Nowhereville, Montana! Then they quote AirBNB incomes and mortgages in various cities, but how do they come to a single value? Where in the heck can you (all) 1. Legally put one of these on your property given zoning laws, 2. Fit it on your property and 3. Actually earn that kind of income?
- DubiousPusher 8y ago
  And if you are in Nowhereville Montana, might I recommend https://www.pinkhillcabins.us/cabins https://www.pinkhillcabins.us/cabins instead. Much better value IMO.
- bg4 8y ago
  That's left as an exercise for the reader.
random878 8y ago
Is this not just an advert/spam? This isn't an interesting submission about non-conventional home construction. This isn't a noteworthy example of website/ecommerce design. This isn't an editorial piece promoting interesting conversation.
- sgc 8y ago
  It's not even a very good selection, and hardly "curated". Modular homes generally come in modules. Tiny homes don't fit the bill for me at all, and their modular selection is but a few units from some random manufacturer. Seems like spam to me too.
  - random878 8y ago
    On the page the contact address under About is: Caleb@cereal.ventures Quick search returns: Cereal Ventures is an experimental product incubator by Ben Adam and Caleb Barclay Webpage returns: 'Investment Calculator' and 'Day of the Dead'. OP 'calebbarclay' has only three submissions to HN: Investment Calculator, Day of the Dead, and Dwellito I think HN is a great place to see people's work, but users need to be upfront about their association to what they submit. This is should clearly be listed using 'Show HN:'
  - logfromblammo 8y ago
    In my mind, modular homes are factory-built pieces that are assembled on-site, and design-sized for the 8.5' W by 13.5' H by 53' L volume envelope and 6 ton/axle weight limit of a standard US highway semi-trailer. International modules would have to design around the 40' ISO shipping container--either to go go in one, or to function as one. The hotel-rooms-in-a-box on the linked page are like saying that a single 2x4 LEGO block, with all the studs filed down flat and holes cut in the sides, is a modular building system. Even double-wide manufactured homes are more modular, in that they come in left-half modules and right-half modules, that get joined together at the build site. The curation has somehow left out all the manufacturers that can crank out four 53' x 8.5' modules in 60 days, deliver them all to your flat-slab foundation, and bolt them all together to make an 1800 sq.ft. ranch-style home that meets code and actually has enough space for your kids to have their own rooms. And most of those are less than $140k for the structure. Cost average is $50/sq.ft. for stock structure designs, $10-$20/sq.ft. for customizations, $5-$10/sq.ft. for delivery, maybe $15-$25/sq.ft. for site prep and foundation, $20/sq.ft. for utility connections, permits, finishing, and everything else. This is boutique-style homes manufacturing. If you want to make a business of it, as implied by the AirBnB rental prices, skip this curated list, and go with a larger manufacturer with a factory within 100 miles of your build site. If your modular home is pushing past $150/sq.ft. with all costs but site purchase included, you are not competitive in your market, and are approaching being uncompetitive with custom site-built homes. At $400/sq.ft., your business will die shortly after selling to the 50 customers that want to spend $100k and yet still live inside a shoebox.
wlesieutre 8y ago
Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/tinyhouses https://www.reddit.com/r/tinyhouses for more examples and discussion! Don't have one myself, but they're fun to look at.
crispyporkbites 8y ago
I don't understand the hype around modular homes, the build cost of a house is almost nothing compared to the costs of everything around it. When you can build modular roads, shops, offices, pubs, schools, utilities, communities and transport links to other areas, we'll need cheaper buildings. Until then the cost of land in any location that anyone wants to live in makes the building cost almost neglible.
fredophile 8y ago
In Belize there is a popular type of prefab home called a mennonite house. They're made out of hardwood and look fairly nice.

56 points by Calebbarclay 8y ago

These are beautiful to look at. How is life inside of them? My wife filled in for a housecleaner at a couple of units billed as "Tiny Homes" on AirBNB and complained vigorously about the contortions required to clean them and generally how cramped they are. In my part of Floriduh they're novelties and in built up areas exist only in trailer parks. As myroon5 suggests, zoning approval in places approved for conventional residences is going to be a challenge.

who-knows95 8y ago

well that is interesting, but i'm not sure how practical it is, unless you have spare space to put one to rent out.

nine_k 8y ago
Buy a lot with a decrepit / destroyed home, remove it, place one of these (which should be fast), start renting it out. The "AirBNB income" line under each picture is touching.
- mcguire 8y ago
  The "AirBNB income" is less than touching since it seems to be the major advertising feature.

fasteddie31003 8y ago

Those prices are way too high for what you are getting. Looks like they are taking standard shipping containers, cutting out some walls and then covering the steel with better-looking materials.

chrisBob 8y ago
Connect-Homes specifically state that they aren't made out of shipping containers, but they do make them in similarly sized sections so that all of the existing shipping infrastructure (road and rail) can move them easily. We looked at modular homes before we built last year. The biggest problem I had with them was that I couldn't find a floor-plan I liked, and you always had strange, extra wide walls at the seams. Connect-Homes looks like they use a steel frame to increase the maximum span and reduce the requirement for thick seam walls. If I ever have to move again for some reason I would probably look at modular homes again.
momentmaker 8y ago
It'd be cool to see the breakdown of the material cost, labor cost and the profit.
- rubidium 8y ago
  material cost: $60,000. Labor cost: $40,000. Profit: $200,000. Somewhat made up, but these are a bit out there.
pjmorris 8y ago
$75,000/160 sq ft = $469/sq ft. Downtown properties in the booming Raleigh market are around $400 sq ft, and they throw in the lot underneath the house for that. I don't understand the economics of these things.
rubidium 8y ago
Definitely not getting a price advantage of modular with prices at $200-400 / sq ft. That's squarely in the custom stick-built range.

myroon5 8y ago

I'm interested in something like a kitHaus. Anyone have any idea if this would be allowed in a city like Seattle?

DubiousPusher 8y ago
Seattle is pretty open to backyard dwellings at this point but you'll want to call the city. I'd recommend looking into other options though. These strike me as very pricey based on other options I've looked at.
- myroon5 8y ago
  Which options have you seen are a better deal than KitHaus?

ryandrake 8y ago

So many questions! First, given the minuscule size of these things and the inclusion of “AirBNB income” these are not homes for sale, but turnkey rental house businesses. Those income figures are in what market? Surely not Nowhereville, Montana! Then they quote AirBNB incomes and mortgages in various cities, but how do they come to a single value? Where in the heck can you (all) 1. Legally put one of these on your property given zoning laws, 2. Fit it on your property and 3. Actually earn that kind of income?

DubiousPusher 8y ago
And if you are in Nowhereville Montana, might I recommend https://www.pinkhillcabins.us/cabins https://www.pinkhillcabins.us/cabins instead. Much better value IMO.
bg4 8y ago
That's left as an exercise for the reader.

random878 8y ago

Is this not just an advert/spam? This isn't an interesting submission about non-conventional home construction. This isn't a noteworthy example of website/ecommerce design. This isn't an editorial piece promoting interesting conversation.

sgc 8y ago
It's not even a very good selection, and hardly "curated". Modular homes generally come in modules. Tiny homes don't fit the bill for me at all, and their modular selection is but a few units from some random manufacturer. Seems like spam to me too.
- random878 8y ago
  On the page the contact address under About is: Caleb@cereal.ventures Quick search returns: Cereal Ventures is an experimental product incubator by Ben Adam and Caleb Barclay Webpage returns: 'Investment Calculator' and 'Day of the Dead'. OP 'calebbarclay' has only three submissions to HN: Investment Calculator, Day of the Dead, and Dwellito I think HN is a great place to see people's work, but users need to be upfront about their association to what they submit. This is should clearly be listed using 'Show HN:'
- logfromblammo 8y ago
  In my mind, modular homes are factory-built pieces that are assembled on-site, and design-sized for the 8.5' W by 13.5' H by 53' L volume envelope and 6 ton/axle weight limit of a standard US highway semi-trailer. International modules would have to design around the 40' ISO shipping container--either to go go in one, or to function as one. The hotel-rooms-in-a-box on the linked page are like saying that a single 2x4 LEGO block, with all the studs filed down flat and holes cut in the sides, is a modular building system. Even double-wide manufactured homes are more modular, in that they come in left-half modules and right-half modules, that get joined together at the build site. The curation has somehow left out all the manufacturers that can crank out four 53' x 8.5' modules in 60 days, deliver them all to your flat-slab foundation, and bolt them all together to make an 1800 sq.ft. ranch-style home that meets code and actually has enough space for your kids to have their own rooms. And most of those are less than $140k for the structure. Cost average is $50/sq.ft. for stock structure designs, $10-$20/sq.ft. for customizations, $5-$10/sq.ft. for delivery, maybe $15-$25/sq.ft. for site prep and foundation, $20/sq.ft. for utility connections, permits, finishing, and everything else. This is boutique-style homes manufacturing. If you want to make a business of it, as implied by the AirBnB rental prices, skip this curated list, and go with a larger manufacturer with a factory within 100 miles of your build site. If your modular home is pushing past $150/sq.ft. with all costs but site purchase included, you are not competitive in your market, and are approaching being uncompetitive with custom site-built homes. At $400/sq.ft., your business will die shortly after selling to the 50 customers that want to spend $100k and yet still live inside a shoebox.

wlesieutre 8y ago

Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/tinyhouses https://www.reddit.com/r/tinyhouses for more examples and discussion! Don't have one myself, but they're fun to look at.

crispyporkbites 8y ago

I don't understand the hype around modular homes, the build cost of a house is almost nothing compared to the costs of everything around it. When you can build modular roads, shops, offices, pubs, schools, utilities, communities and transport links to other areas, we'll need cheaper buildings. Until then the cost of land in any location that anyone wants to live in makes the building cost almost neglible.

fredophile 8y ago

In Belize there is a popular type of prefab home called a mennonite house. They're made out of hardwood and look fairly nice.